From The Void reportedly attracting a $20 Million investment from James Murdoch’s fund, and Sandbox VR partnering with NBC to put together an epic-looking Holodeck experience, to platforms such as Secret Location expanding globally, it seems that consumer appetite for Location-Based VR (LBVR) is, in many ways, outpacing the take-up of consumer HMDs.

Location-Based Virtual Reality (LBVR) is showing great promise as a consumer gateway to VR
Share on X

Although most VR hardware and experiences currently cost too much for the average consumer, Location-Based Virtual Reality (LBVR) is showing great promise as a consumer gateway to VR. It is becoming increasingly common, in fact, for people to be first introduced to an immersive experience through some sort of arcade or installation setup, and also for users to return to these locations for more.

It is becoming increasingly common for people to be first introduced to an immersive experience through some sort of arcade or installation setup, and also for users to return to these locations for more
Share on X

Taking advantage of the consumer technology gap, LBVR is somewhat akin to cyber cafes, providing users with a VR headset, a VR backpack PC and custom-designed space to freely experience in VR. Demonstrating the immersive potential of VR in this way is viewed as a potent means of increasing VR awareness (and therefore uptake) amongst consumers. However, applications of LBVR are also diversifying beyond entertainment, with training, education and marketing professionals amongst the many wondering what next steps to take in order the maximize the potential of this nascent and hugely promising technology.

Applications of LBVR are also diversifying beyond entertainment
Share on X

To take an in-depth look at the current state, and future, of location-based VR, VR Intelligence are hosting an exclusive webinar, The Explosion of Location-Based Virtual Reality: Now & Future. XR Consultant, Columnist and Author, Charlie Fink, will moderate the discussion alongside Joanna Popper (Global Head of Virtual Reality for Location Based Entertainment, HP), Charles Westerberg (Vice President of Business Development, Black Box VR) and Chanel Summers (Vice President of Creative Development, VRstudios, Inc.). Taking place Wednesday, August 7^th (9:00am PT/12:00pm ET/5:00pm BST), the webinar will explore what is really happening in the world of location-based VR, who is making the biggest gains and why, and what the future may hold for this industry still in its infancy.

VR Intelligence are hosting an exclusive webinar, The Explosion of Location-Based Virtual Reality: Now & Future with @VRChuckWagon @JoannaPopper @CharlieFink @VRStudiosUSA @blackbox_vr Wednesday, August 7th
Share on X

Register for this webinar to explore the following:

• Which VR games, experiences and formats are proving most popular in location-based entertainment? And why?
• LBE is undoubtedly a growing segment for VR… but what challenges are centers and content creators still facing?
• Are purpose built free-roam VR experiences or multi-game VR arcades seeing the biggest growth? And are location-based AR experiences now coming to market and making gains too?
• What does it take to make an experience stand out from the crowd and get returning customers who spread the word?
• How is location-based VR diversifying beyond entertainment into training, education, marketing and more – and what does this mean for the rise of the technology more broadly?

Register for this exclusive webinar today

Those who cannot join live will be sent the recordings once the webinar has run.

This webinar is being run in association with VR Intelligence’s upcoming VRX Conference & Expo, taking place December 12-13, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. Expecting more than 600 senior attendees from across gaming, entertainment, healthcare, retail, automotive industries and more, VRX is the world’s premier B2B immersive tech event for those wishing to use XR to boost ROI, propel their business forward and engage consumers through immersive, innovative experiences. More information can be found on the VR Intelligence website.

Tech Trends is an official media partner of VRX 2019

Tech Trends offers a broad range of Digital Consultancy services to guide companies, individuals and brands in effectively leveraging existing and emerging technologies in their business strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Exploring Location-Based VR appeared first on Tech Trends.

As with any novel and paradigm-shifting technology, the initial boom of virtual and artificial reality (VR/AR) has seen a vast array of industries attempting to leverage its benefits, from entertainment to product design, marketing to construction.

Research from ABI shows that the global enterprise VR training market is expected to grow to $6.3 billion by 2022, up from $216 million in 2018
Share on X

While some applications of XR have proved themselves less promising than others, research from ABI shows that the global enterprise VR training market is expected to grow to $6.3 billion by 2022, up from $216 million in 2018; a vast leap by any standards. Certainly, as the interconnectedness and digitization of our world increase, the skills required by future workforces will be markedly different from those before, necessarily becoming broader, more technical and quicker to evolve.

The burgeoning growth of the immersive learning sector has already thrown up several key benefits
Share on X

The burgeoning growth of the immersive learning sector has already thrown up several key benefits: with remote training possible, physical distance between experts and businesses has been all but eradicated; real-life situations can be mirrored, allowing employees to reach greater skill levels in less time; operational costs (from transportation, equipment and labor hours) can be greatly lowered; and through tracking (of behavior, eye movement or gestures), the gathering of data promises vastly enriched analytical capabilities. With such potential on the horizon, it is essential that organizations manage the process of leveraging XR technologies effectively, or risk falling behind as others take the lead.

As the interconnectedness and digitization of our world increase, the skills required by future workforces will be markedly different from those before, necessarily becoming broader, more technical and quicker to evolve
Share on X

To address these opportunities and more, VR Intelligence are hosting an exclusive webinar, ‘How VR & AR are Changing Training, Education & Worker Guidance’, taking place Wednesday, July 31^, 2019, at 9:00am PT/12:00pm ET/5:00pm BST.

With XR, real-life situations can be mirrored, allowing employees to reach greater skill levels in less time
Share on X

Moderator Amy Peck, CEO & Founder, EndeavorVR will be joined by John Cogliandro (Senior Engineer, Special Projects, Raytheon), John O’Shea (Head of VR & AR Enterprise Applications, Applied Materials), Mark Lee (Board Member, Immersive Learning Research Network and Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Charles Sturt University) and Michael Bloor (Co-Founder & CRO, iQ3Connect, Inc). The webinar will explore how companies are using XR technologies to improve training across different organizations and what impacts they are seeing on training efficiency, ROI and improved employee experiences.

VR Intelligence are hosting an exclusive webinar: How VR & AR are Changing Training, Education & Worker Guidance
Share on X

Sign up for this webinar today to explore:

• In which industries are VR & AR having the biggest impact on training and worker guidance?
• Why the changing workforce now expects better technology-led training, and how VR is enabling this
• How are education providers increasingly using immersive technologies and experiences to improve & accelerate learning?
• What benefits can be had in terms of time and cost savings, and how are companies measuring this?
• What’s the place of AR – is it best placed for training, real-time worker guidance, or both?

Register for the webinar today

The webinar will explore how companies are using XR technologies to improve training across different organizations and what impacts they are seeing on training efficiency, ROI and improved employee experiences
Share on X

Those who cannot join live will be sent the recordings once the webinar has run.

This webinar is being run in association with VR Intelligence’s VRX Conference & Expo, which takes place December 12-13, 2019, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. Expecting more than 600 senior attendees from across gaming, entertainment, healthcare, retail, automotive industries and more, VRX is the world’s premier B2B immersive tech event for those wishing to use XR to boost ROI, propel their business forward and engage consumers through immersive, innovative experiences.

This webinar is being run in association with the VRX Conference & Expo, which takes place December 12-13, 2019 in San Francisco
Share on X

Tech Trends is an official media partner of VRX 2019

Tech Trends offers a broad range of Digital Consultancy services to guide companies, individuals and brands in effectively leveraging existing and emerging technologies in their business strategy.

Alice Bonasio is a VR and Digital Transformation Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Exploring Immersive Technology in Training and Education appeared first on Tech Trends.

Virtual Reality gets a bit of a bad rep as an isolating technology. As with the early days of the Internet, it’s sometimes perceived as cutting people off from real contact with real people in the real world.

Virtual Reality gets a bit of a bad rep as an isolating technology
Share on X

But in a digital age ruled by social media, where so much of our interaction happens online, what does “real” even mean? We’ve been redefining our identities and the boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds for decades now. Virtual reality is just the next step in that. But it’s a really big one.

In a digital social media age, what does real even mean?
Share on X

In a webinar hosted by BrightTalk, I gave an overview of where VR comes from, the different types of content emerging for the medium today, and the categories of hardware that are used to view that content.

The idea was to then spend some time exploring how platforms such as Linden Lab’s Sansar and companies like Improbable will facilitate the move into user-generated content that will propel virtual reality into a truly mass market proposition. The structure of the talk followed this format:

History – a bit of context on where VR comes from and where we are now

Types of VR – A lot of different things get called VR, we look at the main ones

Hardware – There’s a lot of gear out there, I’ll give a quick tour of the main ones

Content – Some of the groundbreaking creative stuff already emerging

Social – The platforms emerging which could turn out to be the Facebook of VR

Platforms such as Sansar and Improbable will enable the move into VR user-generated content
Share on X

It was an ambitious ask to cover all that in 45 minutes though, so I did run out of time rather abruptly at the end, which you can see if you watch the webcast below or on the BrightTalk website .

Hopefully it did provide an introduction to VR to those who are interested in the subject. Hundreds of people signed up to watch it and feedback so far has been good, so perhaps we’ll follow up with another talk expanding more on the Social angle. In the meantime, though, here are a few of the concluding points which got cut off when I abruptly ran out of time at 48 minutes!

VR will bring a new type of symbiosis between humans and machines
Share on X

1 – Over the next few years, we’re going to see platforms emerging that will test different ways of blending the real and the virtual worlds. That will also shape new ways for people to interact with one another socially.

2 – Humans are inherently social creatures, and we already love sharing our lives in the digital world. Our YouTube Videos, Facebook baby news and Twitter memes will eventually be blended and transformed into VR experiences.

3 – The God-daddy of Media Theory Marshall McLuhan described the relationship between humans and machines as symbiosis. I’d argue that with Virtual Reality we’re going to see a new type of symbiosis emerge. What that will look like exactly, is anybody’s guess though. It’s too early to tell for sure.

As McLuhan also said “the medium is the message” but where the medium is as young – as least as a mass-market proposition – as VR is, the medium hasn’t had time to shape that message yet.

It’s going to be a hell of a ride

The post Let’s Talk Social VR appeared first on Tech Trends.